CHUTE-A-BLONDEAU, Ont. - With just over two weeks before election day, Ontario's political leaders jumped off their campaign buses and hopped onto tractors Tuesday to court the farm vote at the International Plowing Match.
About 90,000 people are expected to attend the five-day event, which rotates around the province and this year is being held in farmer's field at Chute-a-Blondeau near Hawkesbury on the Ontario-Quebec border.
The plowing match becomes a virtual one-stop shopping point for politicians to show their interest in agricultural issues, and is a must-attend event for them even in non-election years.
The province's new risk management programs should help convince farmers to re-elect a Liberal government on Oct. 6, Premier Dalton McGuinty said at the plowing match.
"I've been making calls to our rural candidates, former MPPs included, and getting a good sense of what's happening out there, and we're doing very well," said McGuinty.
"One (reason) is because we've got this great program called risk management that introduces stability and bankability and predictability, the single most important issue to the family farm."
The Progressive Conservatives are offering what they say is a better and more comprehensive business risk management program than the one introduced by the Liberals. Rookie PC Leader Tim Hudak promised a robust program for commodities that aren't supply managed, but did not provide details.
"We've seen a lot of ups and downs in areas like beef and pork," said Hudak.
"Business-risk management will give more long-term security and encourage investment."
However, Bert Vorstenbosch, a hog farmer from Mitchell, Ont., said despite the popularity of the risk management programs, not everyone is impressed.
"Some of the farmers are not that much in favour of risk management -- myself, I'm in favour of it but it's out of my range because we rent all our land to my nephew," said Vorstenbosch.
"It's hard to keep all the farmers happy because ... when one farmer suffers another thrives. There's not something there for everyone."
The New Democrats expressed concerns that Ontario imports $4 billion more in food products than it exports each year, but said the greater "threat" the province faces is keeping young people on the farm.
"One of the things we are very concerned about is helping to make sure that farms can pass down to the next generation," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
"It's important to make sure that we are keeping our family farms."
The Liberals have faced opposition to giant wind turbines in some rural parts of the province, especially from people who live near the windmills and complain of a range of health problems they associate with the energy projects.
McGuinty acknowledged the controversy Tuesday, but countered by saying many farmers hope to earn extra cash from the government's generous payments for wind and solar power by applying for their own green energy projects.
"You know the biggest number of applicants we're getting for the feed-in program, it's from rural Ontario, it's from families and farmers," he said.
"They are the greatest subscribers to our clean energy program in Ontario, by the thousands."
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture said a survey of the 44,000 farm businesses in the province found their top issues in the campaign to be energy, environmental stewardship, risk management, rural infrastructure and reduced regulations.
Since the various agricultural sectors got together and came up with plans for risk management programs, their united lobbying front has paid off in support from all the major political parties, said OFA president Bette Jean Crews.
"I have to say to our members, when it comes to your local area, look at the party that's going to support agriculture and look at the person who gets it," said Crews.
"I think the tide is turning for agriculture, regardless of party. I find that the public wants to buy local, they want to eat Ontario, they're starting to be very aware of our issues, and I think the government has responded."
Politicians must pay attention to farm issues because agriculture and food processing represent 13 per cent of Ontario's GDP and generate about 164,000 jobs, said Robert Gordon, dean of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph.
"Agriculture today is a sophisticated industry that I would hope any politician or candidate for political post would recognize the real importance of it in terms of supporting rural communities, but also the innovations that exist with the new bio-energy economy," said Gordon.
"Agriculture and our rural communities are often the solution provider for a lot of urban issues, and so that requires all of our political parties, even urban elected politicians, to understand that the importance of a strong integration between rural and urban systems."
McGuinty, Hudak, Horwath and Green Leader Mike Schreiner all took part in the opening parade Tuesday morning before climbing onto tractors -- all in the appropriate party colours -- for the actual plowing match. No winner was declared.
